In the closing portion of my review of Pokemon Shield, I said I was going to talk about the final team I used, and what I thought of them. Without further ado, here is my Pokemon Shield team, the first team I built and used all the way up to level 100 for generation 8.

Inteleon (Water)

As I started with Sobble, it made sense that its final form, Inteleon, would be in my main six. I always like to get a starter to level 100 in each Pokemon game I play (apart from in the fourth run onwards for obvious reasons) and this was no exception.

The final verdict on Inteleon? Mediocre. 

It’s not bad to use, it just doesn’t do anything new or interesting. This is mainly down to its single typing, but also let down by its boring design and underwhelming final stats. I do like its signature attack ‘Snipe Shot’ as it bypasses enemy defence stats and strikes with a bullet-shaped water projectile that usually connects with the head of the model of the opponent’s Pokemon.

Overall, fun but nothing special, and I’d go so far as to call Inteleon the most boring water final evolution ever.

Galarian Weezing (Poison / Fairy)

As a big poison user, I absolutely love the design for Weezing’s Galarian form in Pokemon Shield. Totally bulky and with the best evasion I think I’ve ever seen, Weezing was a very valuable asset that overcame almost every adversary it came up against. You can’t look at its design, compared to its usual non-Galarian appearance, and not be amused by its huge chimneys and green frothy moustache. Unfortunately it doesn’t get much use in post game as its quite slow and I have another Poison Pokemon that I prefer to use, but I can say I enjoyed my time with Weezing very much.

Purrserker (Steel)

I cannot stress enough how great this Pokemon is. I typically never use Steel type Pokemon, but the evolution of Galarian Meowth’s design is so cool and interesting that I found myself sticking with it despite not originally planning to.

Capable of one-shotting most Pokemon even at a higher level than it is, I’ve already recommended the use of Purrserker to people who are yet to start playing Sword or Shield. Don’t pass on this one, as I think that it is an absolute must use for anybody due to just how powerful and reliable it is!

Pangoro (Fighting / Dark)

I’d also not planned to use Pangoro for long, but when I discovered that its first form, Pancham, was easily the strongest Pokemon on my team when I started using it for a bit of variety, and as such I felt compelled to stick with it. The rest is history as they say, and it has never left my side, and is my go-to Dynamax Pokemon for Stadium challenges.

The Fighting / Dark typing is the main selling point for me, as similar to Purrserker’s Steel typing, I have rarely used Fighting type Pokemon in the past. Pangoro is surprisingly quick and an absolute powerhouse, with a combination of moves afforded by its typing give it an edge over so many Pokemon in battle, and I’m very happy with my decision to stick with it until the end of the game.

Zamazenta (Fighting / Steel)

The cover legendary of Pokemon Shield, I felt compelled to use Zamazenta as its design is what made me decide to purchase Pokemon Shield over Pokemon Sword. Zamazenta is nothing special to use, particularly when compared to the cover legendaries from previous generations (Yveltal is by far the best cover legendary ever), and now it has hit level 100 I doubt it’ll get used again. I appreciate how good its defence and speed stats are, but not much beyond that unfortunately.

Toxtricity (Poison / Electric)

The other Poison type on my team, like I said I do love using Poison types, Toxtricity might not be the most powerful Pokemon in my final six but it’s definitely my favourite to use. Poison / Electric is an interesting, imposing and unique typing, and so I think Toxtricity must be one of my new favourite Pokemon of all time.

It’s a total beast to use, wielding high power Poison, Normal and Electric type attacks that give it an edge in nearly every battle. Toxtricity is an absolute necessity for any team, and I would be remiss in my duties as a Pokemon Master (shut up I am) to not shout from the rooftops as to how it almost single handedly made my playthrough of Shield as amazing as it was.

If you want to use Toxtricity in your playthrough, speak to the lady at the Pokemon Nursery on Route 5 and she will give you its pre-evolved form, Toxel, for free. Toxel isn’t good to use, but let it sit in your team until it evolves at level 30, as from there the results speak for themselves!

Thank you for reading my team for Pokemon Shield. Let me know if you’ve completed / are playing Sword or Shield and who your best Pokemon is. Who knows, I may be back in a few months to discuss my inevitable Pokemon Sword team (I already think I know who I’ll be using!) but you can be sure to see me much sooner than that on Respawning.co.uk and on Twitter @MaliceVER. Catch you soon.

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